


Red, Red Wine

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It probably has something to do with shovels, plastic tarp, and missing posters.  Between the three of them, all their years in law enforcement, and an overdose on the <i>CSI</i> franchise, we’ll never find you guys.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red, Red Wine

**Author's Note:**

> I was just lying in bed and the words came to me so I rushed to write them down. Hello mojo, it’s nice to see you again as well.

“Do you think we should intervene?” Hotch asked.

“Mmm, I like my balls where they are thanks. I’ll stay out of it.”

“They’re gonna go through that entire bottle of wine.”

“Two have rides home and if I'm lucky one is here to stay.”

“Do you think they're talking about how much they hate us sometimes?”

Dave looked at Hotch, his face serious. “Absolutely. I also think they need this. This could do something that a cooking lesson never could.”

“Are we gonna go out there?” Morgan asked, joining the conversation.

“Its possible you're more welcome than we are.” Rossi replied.

“I try to stay away from women and wine.” he said.

“Why do I not believe that?” Hotch gave him a look.

“OK, what I should say is I try to stay away from _those_ women and wine. It looks a little intense.”

“We were just talking about what they might be talking about.” Dave said.

“I’ll give you a hint. It probably has something to do with shovels, plastic tarp, and missing posters. Between the three of them, all their years in law enforcement, and an overdose on the CSI franchise, we’ll never find you guys.”

“I'm comforted Morgan,” Hotch said. “Thanks.”

“You asked.”

“Dave asked…actually.”

“I didn’t ask, I just said.” Dave clarified. “This is a good thing.”

“He says in his ‘this is a bad, bad thing’ voice.” Morgan smirked.

“It was Aaron’s idea to have this cooking lesson. Whatever happens we can blame him.”

“I can get behind that.”

Hotch didn't like the way Morgan looked at him when he said that. He knew for as angry as Reid was at JJ, Morgan was 20 times more angry with him. He loved Emily, truly loved her. She was just as much a sister to him as Sarah and Desi. And Hotch told him that she was dead.

He let him believe it. He listened to him as he dealt with his grief and tried to deal with how he was going to move on from the loss. Hotch betrayed his trust and his friendship. Somewhere down the line, he was going to pay for that betrayal.

Derek would never act as Spencer acted. They were two different men who lived by two different codes. But it was coming, and all Hotch would be able to do was deal with it. Still, tonight from Rossi’s kitchen, what was happening out on his deck was a scarier prospect.

***

“He's watching me.” Erin said, sipping her wine. “I can feel his eyes on the nape of my neck.”

“They’re watching us.” Emily replied. “I can see them from here.”

“Surely they’ve already had the conversation discussing what we’re discussing.” JJ said.

“Maybe I’ll just French kiss JJ.” Emily said. “That would be a show.”

“I'm not giving David the satisfaction of indulging his fantasies.” Erin replied.

“I'm thinking that’s one I damn sure don’t want to know about.” JJ finished her wine and poured more in her glass.

Erin had grabbed the good shit, a 2000 Australian Shiraz. It had to be about $50 a bottle. It tasted more like $100. JJ didn’t know for sure but she knew 2000 had been a damn good year. Erin came home about 90 minutes into their cooking lesson.

Things had settled; it was actually rather nice. They were talking, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. It didn’t come to a screeching halt when the Section Chief arrived. Her being there wasn’t a surprise to anyone. Erin was cordial enough in her greeting; she saved most of her enthusiasm for the dog.

Then she walked over to the wine rack, grabbed a bottle, a corkscrew, and a glass. She walked out of the side sliding door with the dog in tow. They all went back to their fun even though JJ knew that only about half of Dave was still in the room with them. She would find his eyes drifting to the half opened door. He made no attempt to leave the party though.

Twenty more minutes passed and somehow, none of the women really knew how, JJ and Emily made their way to the deck as well. Erin didn’t speak as she poured more wine in their empty glasses. There wasn’t much use for conversation…there had already been too much talking. Emily took a pack of Ziganov cloves from her purse, placing them on the glass tabletop.

“May I?” Erin asked, pulling them close to her with her hand.

“That’s why I pulled them out.” Emily replied.

“Mine are the bedroom. I just didn’t feel like going there tonight; I wanted some air.”

“Sorry you had to come home to a houseful of people.” JJ said.

“I knew you were coming. Honestly, I tried to stay at Quantico late but the walls were closing in on me. I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

“I thought we were past all that.” Emily replied.

“I thought we were past a lot of things.” Erin took the clove between her lips and lit it. Emily took one and did the same. Erin slid them toward JJ.

“I don’t smoke, ma'am.”

“Don’t call me ma'am.”

“Yes m…I'm sorry.”

“Light up Jennifer. Just one, tonight you don’t give a damn.”

JJ nodded, taking a clove and Emily’s lighter. She wasn’t a stranger to smoking. She’d done her share of experimenting growing up, even as an athlete. As she inhaled, she liked the sweet taste. These definitely beat the cigarettes she and Carolyn Duffy snuck from her mother’s purse when she was 12. JJ thought she’d gotten cancer from just one of those.

***

“JJ just lit a clove.” Hotch said.

“What?” Spencer and Penelope asked the question in unison. Now they both joined their Unit Chief over by the door.

“What's going on out there?” Spencer asked.

“You could go out there and find out.” Hotch replied.

“No, I think I'm just going to stay out of it. Penelope’s a girl; it’s probably safe for her.”

“Thanks for noticing, Doc.” She gave Spencer a pinch. “I've been in here too long…they'd think I was a Yuri. They probably need this.”

“That seems to be the general consensus.” Hotch said.

“Are Rossi and Strauss not getting along?” Spencer asked, regretting the question almost as soon as it came out. That was so none of his business. Anyway, if the answer was what he thought it was it would just make him angry again. All the lies, all the deception…the fallout was damaging to them all.

“I don’t think we should speculate.” Garcia said. “There's probably more going on than we know about.”

“What do you mean, Penelope?” Hotch glanced back at her. It had been her excellent hacking skills that led to the revelation that Emily Prentiss Hotchner was not dead. Could she know something about Erin’s recent personal problems as well? Anything was possible when it came to Garcia.

“Relationships have 600 sides, sir. Just because Rossi and Erin might be going through a rough patch doesn’t mean it necessarily has anything to do with what happened to Emily. All couples have troubles.”

“I wonder what they're talking about then.” Spencer said. “The body language is closed off but also intense. There’s anger but there's also a desire to bond. I would go so far as to say it was a need.”

“That’s a lot of information from looking at their backs, Boy Wonder.” Penelope replied. “We should probably stop spying…it’s not a nice thing to do. I mean if we could hear something, maybe, but we got bupkis going over here.”

***

“Off the record.” Erin took a deep inhale of the clove, exhaling slowly. These were good; she could tell they were expensive and Ziganov was a Russian brand. They were also illegal now but if anyone had connections it would be Emily Prentiss.

“Yeah.” Emily nodded slowly.

“Who came up with the grand plan to fake your death?”

“Off the record?” Emily asked.

“Yeah.” Erin nodded.

“Aaron. I nearly died on the operating table, twice. I was sent to Bonn to convalesce and the plan was to make Ian Doyle think I was dead.”

“But wouldn’t Ian Doyle thinking you're alive cause him to remain above ground?”

“It also would've put her children in danger.” JJ replied. “None of us were willing to take that chance.”

“And I couldn’t make the decision myself.” Emily added.

“When did your team find out you were alive?” Erin asked. “Off the record.”

“The second I walked through the conference room door.” Emily lied. She had to lie; Dave’s balls were on the line. She could live with it.

“So no one knew before then?”

“I knew.” JJ said. “I was the one who told Hotch that she was barely alive. He told the team something else entirely. He thought he was doing the right thing in protecting his entire family. Doyle wasn’t going to stop until the job was done and he didn’t care who he took out in the process.”

“Hotch doesn’t always think things through entirely, does he?” Erin asked.

“It’s not always easy when your family is in danger.” Emily replied. “I'm not prepared to defend him. I spent six months separated from my children and my husband and life. But in the end, we took down Doyle. We even got some other terrorists as parting gifts. The world is just a little safer for all of us.”

“Safer sure, but the family’s fractured.” Erin topped off her glass. “Was it worth it?”

“It might be too late to ask that question.” JJ replied.

“All we can do is move on from here.” Emily said. “All of us have to move on together; as a family.”

“I've never been part of the family. I'm the enemy.”

“You brought some of that on yourself, Erin.”

“Is this still off the record?” JJ asked.

“I don’t give a damn about on or off the record.” Erin replied. “I just want my life back. I don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night anymore and think I might be living a lie. I don’t want to look into the eyes of the man I love and know I’ll never come before the family.”

“Welcome to my world.” Emily said.

“Excuse me?”

“You married the BAU Erin…so to speak. While this time the circumstances were a bit extraordinary, I know its not the first time you’ve felt as if ‘the family’ has come first. Is Dave worth it?”

“Is Aaron?” Erin countered.

“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”

“Ditto.” She pushed the wine to the middle of the table. “Enjoy the rest of this. I need to get some rest; it’s been a long day.”

“Take these.” Emily pushed the cloves in her direction. “A cup of tea, I prefer chamomile, and one of these helps me sleep like a baby.”

“Thank you.” she grabbed the box from the table. “Goodnight, Emily; goodnight Jennifer.”

“Goodnight.” They said in unison as they watched her walk back toward the house with Mudgie in tow.

***

Spencer nearly tripped over his own shoelaces as he rushed away from the door. He had no idea how Garcia moved so quickly in two and a half inch heels. Erin walked through just a few minutes after he managed to slide away, trying to keep himself from hitting the floor.

“New feet, Agent Reid?” she asked, an almost whimsical look on her face.

“No ma'am, I mean um…new shoes.”

“Ahh, I see. Goodnight.”

They all said goodnight to her and Erin headed out of the kitchen. Dave followed, stopping her in the dining room.

“Can I get anything for you, Erin?”

“I would love a cup of tea. And to be honest I would love for you to throw your friends out and just come to bed. I want it to be dark and I want it to be quiet.”

“I can do that.” Dave replied.

“Alright.” She nodded and walked away again. Dave’s calling her name stopped her.

“Yes?” she turned around.

Dave walked up on her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Erin didn’t protest but she didn’t quite surrender either.

“I don’t like when we don’t kiss each other hello.” He whispered.

“I don’t like a lot of things.”

“Well, maybe we can do something about both problems.”

“Where do we even begin?”

Dave kissed her. He didn’t just kiss her, he fully possessed her mouth and made it his again. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d kissed her like that. It hadn't been since Emily Prentiss walked into the BAU conference room. That was a month ago.

Even those few nights Erin was able to let go enough to let him make love to her, Dave usually felt emptier when it was over. He moaned into her mouth when Erin reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She could feel it, the tingles starting at the tips of her toes. Heat began to course through her body and she knew Dave felt it too. As much as it pained her, Erin pulled out of the kiss.

“What do you think they’ll rate it?” she whispered, sure his ‘family’ was watching.

“It better be a ten. Though I know for a fact it was more than that.”

“Damn skippy it was.”

Dave couldn’t help the smile that moved across his face. She knew what it did to him to hear her say that. She wouldn’t have done it if unprepared to back it up. Erin wasn’t that type of woman. She was a tease; she was a tease all over the place.

But it was all part of the game. Everything she teased with she planned to give later, freely and plentifully. Dave’s head was spinning just imagining the possibilities behind those four words. Things had been wrong for so long…it wasn’t just the past month. It was the past six months and it was about more than the death of Emily Prentiss.

“I’ll get your tea.” Dave kissed her nose.

“Thank you.” she moved out of his embrace and left the room. He watched her and Mudgie go before returning to the kitchen. The team was actually in the process of cleaning up.

“That was a lot of fun Agent Rossi, but we’re done taking up all of your time.” Penelope said.

“We’d love to do it again though.” Emily added.

“Of course you would…you left halfway through and polished off a really good bottle of my wine.”

“It was excellent.” JJ gave two thumbs up and giggled.

“Who's taking JJ home?” Dave asked. He moved over to the stove and grabbed the teakettle.

“I will.” Reid volunteered.

“Thanks Spence.” She smiled.

“Is there anything else we can help you with, Dave?” Hotch asked.

“No. I want you guys to go home and have a good night. I’ll see you all bright and early on Monday, not before.”

“I'm sensing a ‘here’s your hat, what's your hurry’.” Morgan said grinning.

Dave just smirked and then he walked them all to the door. There were kisses, hugs, and handshakes passed around before finally they were all gone. Dave locked the door, set the alarm, and moved back to the kitchen. He would make Erin’s tea and then maybe go up and surprise her in the shower.

He’d felt it when he kissed her; the tide was turning. While Dave didn’t know what the three women had discussed outside it had to be something. The Erin in the dining room was different than the Erin he’d been living with recently. He desperately wanted to get reacquainted with her and heal some wounds in both of them.

***

  



End file.
